


Ink'd

by sourwulfur



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, Scott and Stiles are bros, Scott is a Good Friend, Things are going to get weird, WIP, brotp ftw, derek and laura are tattoo artists, idek, mute!Stiles, selective mutism, stiles does not speak, tattoo parlor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-24
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2017-12-16 01:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourwulfur/pseuds/sourwulfur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several years ago, most of the Hale family died in a fire. Since then, Laura and Derek Hale moved to New York; until recently. They moved back when Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall were sixteen, opening a tattoo parlor that they owned and operated, named Ink'd. The Hales have always been known for being secretive; and, Stiles, well, he may just accidentally stumble upon their secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you are aware, groups of words that are in italics have been written by Stiles for other people to read.

When Stiles Stilinksi was sixteen, the first and only tattoo parlor in Beacon Hills, named Ink'd, opened up. It was owned and operated by the quiet Derek Hale, and his loud sister, Laura. They were a few years apart in age, but very close. They had lived in town several years before, until most of their family died in a terrible fire. Stiles saw Laura around town a lot, but he never really saw Derek until he and Scott McCall, his best friend, were seventeen and they went into the shop so that Scott could get his first tattoo.

 

He had his mother's permission, and Melissa stopped in on her way to work to let that be known before Derek started on the tattoo. Stiles silently looked around the shop at the different designs on display. He smiled slightly when he came across a photo that was taken at an odd angle but showed Laura smiling as Derek concentrated on working the tattoo she had on the side of her left hip. “Your friend doesn't say much, does he?” Derek questioned as he wiped away a little blood and excess ink with a clean cloth.

 

Scott shook his head a little, glancing over to where Stiles was distracting himself from what was going on with one of the stereotypical design books. “No, he's not... He's not said a word since his mother died when we were nine,” answered Scott. Derek nodded without taking his focus away from Scott for a moment. Scott winced a little, trying not to move his arm. “Whatcha lookin' at Stiles?” Scott asked his best friend when he noticed Stiles laughing softly.

 

Stiles then turned around the book he was flipping through to show Scott a drawing of some twisted and contorted snake-like creature, making Scott snort. “It's Jackson,” he stated, earning himself a firm nod from Stiles.

 

Derek's brow rose a little, but he added no comments until he asked Stiles, “You thinking about one?”

 

He pulled the tattoo gun away from Scott's arm as he looked over to Stiles, who gestured something quickly of his hands that made no sense to Derek, though the man was pretty sure it was basic American sign language. He just did not know any of it. “He said that his dad would kill him and he's not a huge fan of needles,” Scott translated, having had learned sign language with Stiles so that he could understand what his friend wanted to say without actually speaking.

 

“Oh.” Derek nodded before he returned to work.

 

A long while later, Scott was paying for the tattoo while listening to Derek go over the after care guidelines. “Touch-ups are free as long as it's not a major job,” Derek added with a nod as he walked over to the sink in the corner to wash his hands.

 

“Okay, cool, thanks,” replied Scott with a smile and a nod.

 

Both teens then left the shop, Stiles waving on his way out. Derek unwittingly found himself watching the quiet teen through the windows as Stiles rapidly signed to Scott. He was not sure what it was about the teen, but there was something there that intrigued him. Derek shoved all that aside, however. He had other things to worry about than teenagers.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was several days later before Derek saw Stiles again. That time, the teen was sitting alone at one of the diners in town, poking at his chocolate milkshake before he wrote something down on a notebook that sat open on the table next to him. He then pointed it out to his waitress, who smiled before nodding as she walked off. Derek watched as Stiles sank down lower in his seat as a group of teens entered the diner, but they did not seem to notice him, which made Stiles appear to be relieved.

 

When Stiles tentatively sat up again, Derek made his way across the street from the bank, where he had been running an errand, and into the diner. When Stiles spotted him and smiled with a wave, Derek went over to sit in the booth, across the table from from him. “Hey, Stiles,” Derek stated as he crossed his arms on top of the table. “Where's Scott?”

 

Stiles pointed at the word “ _party_ ” that was already written in the notebook. Derek guessed that the waitress had asked him that already. He nodded before shrugging out of his jacket to place on the seat next to him. “So, what's good here? I’ve never been. It opened after I left,” Derek said, smiling slightly at Stiles, who immediately picked up his pen and wrote in a blank area of the paper.

 

_Everything. Especially the curly fries. Anita is getting me some now._

 

Derek chuckled a little and nodded. “I may just have to try some, then,” he said.

 

Stiles nodded a few times with a bright smile that slowly faded as one of the girls that had come in earlier walked over to the table. “Who's your friend, Stiles?” she asked, though she knew Stiles would not answer her, as she flashed a smile at Derek.

 

Stiles sank down a little lower in his seat, tapping the pen in his hand against the notebook, while attempting his best impression at being invisible. Derek sighed softly, scowling at the girl as he said, “I'm Derek; and, if you don't mind, I was having a conversation with my friend, Stiles.”

 

The girl arched a brow as she looked between them. “But, Stiles doesn't talk.”

 

“That does not mean he is unintelligent or is incapable of other forms of communication. Now, I do believe you are in the woman's way.” Derek finished speaking with a nod to the waitress who stood behind the teen, frowning at the girl.

 

The plate of curly fries in her hand led Derek to correctly assume the woman was Anita, whom Stiles had already mentioned. The woman smiled and cut off the teenage girl attempting to ask Derek to her table by setting the fries down as she said, “Here ya go, sugar. You give my best to your daddy, ya hear?”

 

Stiles sat up and popped one of the curly fries into his mouth with a nod. He narrowed his eyes a little when Derek did as he had said earlier by stealing one of the fries off of the plate. “Anything else I can get you boys?” questioned Anita as the teenage girl left with a huff at the fact that she was quite obviously being ignored.

 

“Sweet tea, please,” Derek requested as Stiles shook his head.

 

“Sure thing, honey.” Anita smiled before she left the table to finish her rounds of the diner and get Derek’s tea.

 

Derek smiled slightly at Stiles as he crossed his arms on top of the table again. “So, you're starting senior year in the fall, right?” Derek asked, pausing until Stiles nodded to continue. “Any ideas where you would like to go to college?”

 

Stiles wet his lips as he thought about it for a moment before he wrote down his answer. Once he had, he turned the notebook so that Derek could see what he had written.

 

_No, not really. Mom wanted me to go into music or art, but... I dunno. Guess I’ll just see what happens._

 

Derek nodded a little, smiling as he said, “Don't rush yourself. You've plenty of time. I didn't know where I wanted to go until just before hand. Now, I’ve a degree in art. I...” Derek’s words trailed off as his eyes shifted so that he could look out the window and down the street a little. Stiles looked to try to see whatever had Derek’s attention, but he did not see anything. “I should go.”

 

The man nodded once, leaving enough money on the table to cover his tea and Stiles' order as well before he grabbed his leather jacket and left, leaving Stiles sitting there, very confused.

 

 

* * *

 

 

That evening, Stiles took the long way home, taking him along the winding road that skirted along the edge of town. Stiles was still a few miles away from home, just on the edge of the woods, when something big and black came barreling out of the tree line toward the side of his Jeep. When it hit, the car jerked and the water on the road from the earlier rain caused Stiles to lose control of the vehicle. It was only a matter of seconds before the Jeep ran head first into a tree.

 

Stiles guessed he blacked out for a little while because when he finally came to, it was darker outside than it had been when he wrecked. Climbing out of the Jeep with a groan, Stiles winced as his head hurt and he searched for his phone. He could not find it anywhere, however. It was not in pocket, where he swore he'd had it before. His eyes were barely adjusted to the dark when he heard growls and leaves rustling in the near distance. He froze in place, not exactly sure what to do. A moment later, Derek came running seemingly out of nowhere. His arm was bleeding, but he did not seem to notice as he shouted, “Stiles, run!”

 

The teen was torn between doing what Derek said, or going over to check on Derek. However, when the man insisted again that he run, he did. Stiles was not exactly sure where he was running to, he just ran until he found himself colliding with a rather firm body that made him stumble backward. Were it not for the hands on his arms to steady him, Stiles would have fallen backward. The teen recoiled just a little when he realized it was Laura Hale there with him, and he swore her eyes flashed _red_ for a moment. He must have hit his head harder than he thought. “Where's my brother?” she questioned, and there was no mistaking the growl that rolled through her words.

 

Stiles tensed a little but gestured back over his shoulder in the direction that he had come from. It did not take her a moment longer before Laura was off running in that direction. Stiles stumbled a little at the sudden absence of hands on either arm practically holding him upright, and if it were not for him catching himself on a nearby tree, Stiles probably would have ended up face first in the dirt. The teen's head quickly snapped up when he heard the sound of a twig breaking nearby, and he slowly stood up straight, circling slightly as he walked to keep an eye out on the woods around him. When he was facing forward again, Stiles found himself face-to-face with a smile that was an oddly bright white in contrast to the grimy face it belonged on. That was the last thing he saw before his head felt like it exploded as the person punched him hard enough to render him unconscious.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The world almost felt like it was spinning when Stiles slowly came to, laying on a bed that was not his own. He felt very disoriented, but he could hear low voices somewhere near by. “What did he see, Derek?” one of them said, and Stiles was pretty sure that it was Laura Hale again.

 

“I'm not sure,” replied a voice that definitely belonged to Derek. “I don't know what he was doing out there or what _he_ wants with him.” Stiles shifted a little and let out a faint groan at the way his head pounded when he moved, earning the attention of the Hale siblings in the room. “Hey, you're awake.” Derek spoke as he walked over to the bed. “How're you feeling?”

 

Stiles made a vague gesture with his hands, that did not mean anything to Derek or Laura, and the teen sighed softly before Derek reached over to grab a notebook for him to write in. Stiles wrote in a slightly more messy script than Derek had seen before.

 

_Head hurts. Kinda sick to my stomach. What happened? My Jeep! My dad's the sheriff, he_...

 

Stiles stilled his pen when Derek rested a hand in his wrist, reading what the teen was writing as he did. “Your dad knows you're here. He's out trying to figure out what exactly happened. Your Jeep's in for repairs.” Stiles looked confusedly around him, trying to figure out just where he was. It was obviously _not_ the hospital. “You're at our apartment. Laura found you unconscious in the woods. We promised the sheriff we'd watch you and take you to the hospital if you needed it.”

 

The teen nodded a little, wincing as the action caused his head to pound and he rested back on the pillow underneath him again. “Headache?” questioned Laura off to the side, earning another slight nod from Stiles. “I'll go see if we have anything.”

 

After Laura walked out of the room, Stiles pointed back to his question about what had happened, and Derek frowned a little. “We're not sure. Someone obviously hit you, though. Did you see who it was?” Derek questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Stiles shook his head a little in answer, sitting up when Laura returned with water and some tylenol. The teen smiled slightly in thanks before he took the medication, somehow thinking that it was going to end up being a long night. Both of the Hale siblings avoided Stiles' questions for the rest of the night; and, eventually the teen went back to sleep around dawn, after they ruled out the possibility of Stiles having a serious concussion.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange things keep happening around Stiles, and he is not quite sure what to make of it. This time, Scott gets involved and Stiles, well, Stiles will only blame himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far! I'm glad that you're enjoying it as much as I am. :)

Stiles had strange dreams that night that he only vaguely remembered the following morning. He did not bring it up to Scott when he went over to the McCalls' after Laura agreed that he was fine to leave. His head still bothered him a little, but it did not hurt near as much as it had the night before. Scott frowned a little as Stiles simply signed ' _car accident_ ' in response to the other teen's questions about the cut on his head near the hairline and the bruising on his face.

 

“You're okay, though? Why didn't you text me?” Scott asked as they sat down on the couch to play some Call of Duty in the living room.

 

Stiles quickly explained that his phone was not found in or around the car. Scott frowned a little once again as he said, “That's weird.”

 

The quiet teen shrugged a little, not exactly sure what to offer in response. It was not the weirdest thing that had happened the night before. The two teens then got lost in video games and movies until John Stilinski showed up to take Stiles home that evening. The sheriff attempted to question Stiles about what had happened, but every time, the teen signed the same answer; ' _I don't know_ '.

 

When Stiles had finally convinced his father that he was fine, the teen went upstairs and into his bedroom, shutting the door after him. He then went over and dropped down onto his bed, sprawling out across it. It took him a few moments, but his brow furrowed when he realized something was pressing into his back and he moved enough to pick it up. It was his phone. Stiles sat up quickly, which made his head spin a little, but he was more focused on the phone that his phone was there in his bed. Stiles had _sworn_ he had taken it with him the day before. Obviously he had been mistaken, though, since there it was. It was fully intact and held no scratches, no signs of having ever been in a car wreck. With a slight shrug, Stiles placed the phone on his bedside table before laying back down. He stared up at the ceiling for a long while, before he finally fell asleep.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_It was bright and sunny with a slight breeze ruffling the tall grass all around the blanket he was sprawled out on. Stiles was focused on the clouds rolling above him, but he was fully aware of Derek Hale standing near-by, watching him. Stiles said nothing, though, just focused on the different shapes and forms the clouds made. “You dream of the clearing in the woods?” Derek asked after a long while._

 

_Stiles lifted his shoulders in a shrug before speaking in a soft, scratchy voice that held obvious signs of non-use for several years, “Mom used to bring me here. It was where we would escape everything, if only for a few minutes.”_

 

_Derek nodded a little, slowly walking over to where the blanket was before crouching down next to it. “You should speak when you're not dreaming, too, y'know,” he stated, though not unkindly. “I'd like to hear you speak.”_

 

_The teen just laughed quietly, shaking his head a little. “No one listens to me, anyway.”_

 

“ _I would.”_

 

_Stiles looked from the clouds to Derek, then, his brow furrowing a little. “Why am I dreaming of you?”_

 

_Derek lifted his shoulders in a shrug, a smile slowly forming on his face. “It's your dream, Stiles.” The smile slowly faded, however, Derek’s expression growing darker, more serious. “Stiles, you need to be careful. What happened in the woods... Something's going on.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles woke up with the form of the word “what” on his lips, though he never actually said it, and his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what exactly had woken him up. It took him a long few minutes to get up, slowly moving toward the doorway of his bedroom. The teen looked down the hallway to his father's room; the door was open, which meant the sheriff was either the one downstairs that woke him up, or he was at work. Stiles tensed a little at that thought, slowly and quietly starting to make his way downstairs. The front door was wide open, but Stiles did not see anyone around. The living room, hallway, kitchen, and dining room were all a mess. Things were strewn _everywhere_. The back door was busted open; but, Stiles did not see anyone around.

 

The quiet teen just stood there in shock for a few moments, not sure what to do. He then quickly went over to the phone on the wall in the kitchen. He dialed for the dispatcher at the station and then placed the phone on the counter. He could hear the faint sounds of one of the deputies saying, “ _Beacon County Sheriff Station, what is your emergency_?”

 

Stiles did not respond, but he knew it would only take a few moments longer for them to trace the call, and then his father and probably the entire station would be speeding to the house. Stiles continued toward the back door, stopping on the porch to look around the yard. There were no signs of anyone around. Nothing moved and Stiles did not even hear any of the annoyingly loud birds that tended to swarm the area. The teen tensed a little, feeling a faint shudder work down his spine. Something was definitely wrong; but, he had no idea what it was.

 

It was only a matter of minutes later that the sheriff and several deputies came rushing in through the door. John immediately went to his son and pulled Stiles into a nearly crushing hug, demanding to know what the hell happened. Once Stiles got out of the embrace, he quickly signed to explain that he had woken up to find the downstairs destroyed, and that no, he had not seen anyone nor found anything missing yet.

 

John sent the deputies on a sweep of the area, though Stiles had a strong feeling they would not find anything. The house was crawling with cops all day, who very much hindered Stiles' want to put the house back to rights. However, no one would let him. They were still viewing the house as a scene that needed processed. Eventually, John called Melissa and asked if they could stay at her place for a while. Of course, she accepted, and was over there in less than ten minutes to pick up Stiles and get him away from the house.

 

The teen was jumpy all night, something he could not quite explain, despite trying to whenever Scott asked him if he was okay. There was just a weird feeling in the air and Stiles did not like it. Melissa had already left for work and Stiles had thought Scott was asleep when he tried sneaking out the back door. “What are you doing?” Scott hissed, grabbing his arm to stop him.

 

With a faint sigh, Stiles signed to his best friend that he was just going to look around.

 

“In the woods? Stiles, it's dark, that's crazy.”

 

The quiet teen shook his head a little before nodding it toward the trees, indicating that Scott should come with him. Scott let out a heavy breath, looking back over his shoulder before he returned his gaze to his best friend. Scott then grinned and nodded once. “Alright, let's go; and, yes, I’ve got my inhaler. Let's go.”

 

Scott chuckled and Stiles just smiled Scott nudged him toward the woods, and the two of them started walking. It was too dark to see Stiles signing anything, so Scott did not try to keep up any sort of conversation. He had no real idea what they were looking for, but he did not like the thought of his best friend wandering around the woods alone after dark, especially since Stiles would not actually call out for help, even if he needed it. By that point, Scott was no longer sure that Stiles _could_ talk due to lack of it for so long.

 

The two teens continued their trek into the woods, continuing to search (for what, Scott still did not know) as the last full moon of the month grew higher in the sky. Both of them stopped, spinning to look toward the right when they heard a twig snap in that direction. “What was that?” Scott questioned, though he knew that Stiles would not have an answer.

 

Stiles turned back to look behind him, brow furrowing as he tried to figure out what was going on when another branch snapped in that direction. Then, before either of them could react, there was a low growl, and something big and black launched itself at Scott, tackling him to the ground. Stiles' eyes widened as he heard his friend cry out when the giant _thing_ bit him. Stiles frantically looked around before grabbing a decent sized fallen tree branch, which he used to hit the thing on the head. Stiles barely had time to do anything else before the thing swiped an arm at him, causing him to fly back and hit the tree hard; and, Stiles knew nothing but darkness after that.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“ _Where are you?” Derek asked him, making Stiles spin around and almost hit him across the face, however Derek grasped his wrist to stop the punch before it landed. “Stiles, **where are you**?”_

 

“ _I don't... I don't know,” replied Stiles, his voice tired and scratchy as it had been before. “Somewhere in the woods behind the McCall house.” It took a moment for everything that happened to them in the woods; but, once it did, Stiles' chest tightened to the point that he struggled to breathe. “Oh, my god.” His words were panted between harsh breaths. “Scott. Scott's hurt. I got him hurt. Holy god. I can't...”_

 

“ _Stiles, **breathe** ,” Derek instructed as he rested one hand on either of Stiles' shoulders. The rest of the man's words faded out so that Stiles could no longer here as his awareness of everything started to disappear._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Stiles groaned almost silently as he slowly sat up, reaching up to press a hand to the back of his head, which only made it hurt worse and he quickly pulled his hand back with a faint hiss. He could hear distant shouts of his own name and Scott's coming from various people off to the southwest. Stiles took a few moments to get his bearings before he looked around for Scott, and he found the other teen where he had been lying the night before. Stiles scrambled over to where Scott was, ignoring the way it made his head spin as he tugged Scott's shirt up to check out where his friend had gotten bitten, only there was no wound there, which made Stiles draw back in shock. There was a rip in Scott's shirt where the bite was made, but no bite mark. That was... Well, Stiles was not sure what it was. He grabbed his friend's shoulder, shaking it gently until Scott's face scrunched up in annoyance. “Five more minutes, mom,” Scott grumbled, ignoring Stiles' huff in response. The quiet teen then punched Scott hard on the shoulder, which made his friend sit up rather quickly with wide eyes. “Stiles. What? Where are-?” His eyes widened as he looked to his side as well, running a hand over the unmarked skin, both of them furrowing their brow a little. “That's... But, it bit me, and... What?” Scott turned around where he sat enough to look toward the direction that the voices were calling for them. “Holy shit. I think that's the entire department.”

 

Scott looked back to Stiles, who winced and nodded solemnly. They were both in _so_ much trouble. “Over here!” Scott finally called, after they both came to terms with the fact that they would probably be spending the rest of the summer in their rooms. Scott cleared his throat before calling out a little louder. “We're over here! We're fine!”

 

Both teens stood up then, Scott helping to steady Stiles, who seemed to sway a little on his feet. “Stiles, are you okay?” The quiet teen's brow furrowed a little before he shook his head, which only made him wince and he really wished the ground would stop moving. “Stiles needs help!”

 

Moments later, the entire search party was around them, and the paramedics immediately rushed to Stiles, who they started to check. A couple tried to check Scott over as well, including his mother, but he insisted that he was fine, that it was Stiles who needed help. “What were you _thinking_?” Melissa questioned her son, knocking him upside the head while Stiles was placed on one of those portable stretches. Scott was more focused on watching his friend, listening to the EMTs talking about trauma and head wounds. They kept trying to get him to speak, but John casually reminded them that Stiles had not said a word since he was ten. “Scott!”

 

“Sorry, mom,” Scott said, shaking his head a little as he focused on her. “It was my idea. I wasn't thinking, and Stiles fell, hit his head. I kind of panicked and I guess I blacked out; but, I’m _fine_.”

 

“Fine. You're fine, and so completely grounded.”

 

“Mom.” Scott groaned as they all started the walk back to where everyone's cars were. When they got there, Scott _swore_ he saw the Hales lurking near the tree line, but when he looked back, there was no one there. “Stiles will be okay, yeah?” The question was directed at the sheriff, who was preparing to drive himself over to the hospital to be there with his son.

 

“He'll be fine,” replied John with a sigh, running a hand through his thinning hair, trying to figure out just when his son became a magnet for trouble. “They want to do some checking and just double check since this is the second time in three days that he's hit his head.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles was irritable. He hated hospitals. He hated them more than he could express. He had gone through all the checks that the doctors wanted to do, and they all insisted that he would be fine with rest. No vigorous activities for several days, and lots of rest would help him feel better. Stiles was not allowed his phone, and Scott was not allowed to visit, so Stiles had nothing to do but watch the terrible daytime dramas in the afternoon. He wanted to go _home_ , but even if he was released, he would not be allowed back home just yet. They were searching for any sign of who might have broken in. Something told Stiles that it was going to be a very long, confusing summer.

 

Meanwhile, at the McCall house, Scott sighed as he lay on his bed, throwing a lacrosse ball up in the air only to catch it before it fell and hit his face. He was trying to piece together what had happened the night before, and Scott was not sure _how_ he held no signs of being bitten. It was all rather strange. The thing had almost looked like a wolf; almost, but it was unlike any wolf he had ever seen before. It was too big, first of all. Scott had sworn its eyes had been _red_ , too. He needed to talk to Stiles. Maybe Stiles would have answers for him. Scott would just have to wait until Stiles was out of the hospital to sneak in to wherever he was going to be staying. Unless his mother agreed to let him stay there again. She could not exactly ban Scott from Stiles if that were the case.

 

Well, whatever happened; Scott knew one thing for sure, nothing about what had happened in the woods the night before was normal.


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Scott have some questions, and they demand answers.

After Stiles was released from the hospital, he was taken to the McCall house, as his own was not cleared for them to return to just yet. The teens did not mind, though, because it meant that at least part of them being in trouble was lifted. They weren't allowed video games or television, and were basically confined to the house, but that was fine with them. “S'just, dude,” Scott said, his disbelief ringing in his voice, “there's not even a _mark_.”

 

Stiles brow furrowed a little as he poked at Scott's side where the bite mark should have been while his friend held his shirt up enough to expose that part of his side. Still, there was no teeth marks, no bruising, no puncture holes. It was as if it had never happened. Yet, they had _both_ seen it, so it could not have been a hallucination. Stiles sighed and leaned back before signing a question at his friend, asking Scott if he had seen what it was.

 

“Not really,” replied Scott with a shake of his head as he dropped his shirt back into place. “It was big and black. It almost looked like... But, no. There are no wolves in California.”

 

Stiles had thought the same thing as his friend, but they had both come to the same conclusion. Plus, the thing had been much too big to be any wolf that they had heard of. It was too small to be a bear, though. Stiles ran his fingers through his hair, making the already untidy strands that much more unruly. He did not really care at that moment. He was more concerned about his friend. Neither one could think of a _normal_ reason why Scott would be healed already. Jokes about werewolves and vampires started being tossed around then; but, it was as they were trying to fall asleep that night that both of them got stuck on the same thought. _Werewolves_.

 

Days later, Stiles and his father moved back into their home, still having no lead on the break in. During that time, Stiles did not see Laura or Derek anywhere around town. It had him slightly on edge, if he was honest; and, Derek stopped showing up in his dreams. Stiles was listening to the radio in the kitchen as he made himself a sandwich one afternoon when he felt like someone was watching him. Stiles looked up just in time to see what he thought was Derek Hale disappearing back into the woods beyond the back yard.

 

Stiles set aside the sandwich before grabbing his cell phone, the small notepad he shoved into his hoodie pocket with a pen, and he made his way outside. The teen quietly wound his way through the trees to a near-by clearing. “What are you doing out here?” Derek questioned from behind him, making Stiles jump and spin around before facing the man.

 

Stiles' brow furrowed as he studied Derek for a moment before he grabbed the notebook to write, “ _What are_ _you_ _doing here?_ ” before showing it to the man.

 

Derek took a few tentative steps forward so that he could actually read what Stiles had written. “I was just... I wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard about the overnight in the woods.”

 

The teen smirked a little in amusement, arching a brow before he took pen to paper once again. _Then you decided to act like a creeper and disappear into the woods? Subtle._

 

Derek exhaled heavily through his nose, putting his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. “You shouldn't be out here alone, especially at night.”

 

The warning seemed simple enough; but, paired with what all had been happening, Stiles was starting to wonder if Derek knew what was going on. _There was something in the woods_. Stiles wrote the information quickly, showing it to Derek. He did not miss the way the man's lips tightened and he tensed where he stood.

 

“Are you okay?” Derek questioned after a few moments of silence. “You didn't get attacked, did you?”

 

Stiles shook his head, frowning a little before he wrote out a response once again. That time, he hesitated before he showed Derek, not exactly sure how the man would react to the information. However, he did turn the notebook around so that Derek could read that he had written _Scott_ in slightly smaller letters. _You know what's going on, don't you?_ Stiles hastily added his question, scowling a little when Derek just stood there.

 

After a moment, Derek sighed and took a step away from the quiet teenager. “Go home, Stiles.” The man let out an irritated huff when Stiles stubbornly crossed both arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at Derek in challenge. “Stiles, _go home_. You're safer there.”

 

So, Derek did know what was going on; that much Stiles could easily infer. Now, the teen just wanted to know what was happening. He felt like he had right to know. That... _thing_ attacked his car and then _bit_ his best friend. Did that not earn him rights to know what was going on around him? Stiles uncrossed his arms, only to hastily scribble out his next thought before showing it to Derek. _My car accident is related to all this; isn't it? Tell me what's going on._

 

Derek did not give Stiles any answer, he just walked farther away, insisting one more time for Stiles to go home before he walked off. Stiles glared and tossed the notebook in Derek’s direction, though it did not make it very far before it fluttered to the ground. Stiles stalked off toward the house again, determined to figure things out for himself since Derek was not going to tell him.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“He bit McCall,” Derek informed Laura as he dropped down on the couch in their shared apartment. “The other night, when Stiles and the kid were out there and the whole police force went out looking for them? Stiles said that he got attacked.”

 

“We don't know it was him,” retaliated Laura from her spot on the couch, where she was sipping on a beer and working on her next tattoo design.

 

“Do you really think that if McCall were attacked by anything else the news would not have jumped on a story about an animal attack?” Derek’s brow rose as his sister stilled for a moment.

 

She then looked over at her younger brother, setting the beer down on a coaster that rested on the coffee table. “Guess we need to keep an eye out on him, then.” There was a few moments of quiet before Laura went on to say, “The Stilinski kid doesn't know what's going on, does he?”

 

Derek shook his head a little, sinking down on the couch slightly as he thought back to how their meeting in the woods had ended up. “No, he doesn't know. He knows something's up and he wants answers, but he doesn't know.”

 

Laura nodded firmly at the answer before she let herself get lost on focusing on the sketch once again. She rarely took even a few minutes to focus on anything that was not the problem at hand, so Derek was not going to stop her. They were in no immediate danger, anyway; and, Peter did not really do much unless it was a full moon. They had a little less than a month.

* * *

“Dude, _dude_ ,” Scott said exasperatedly as he dropped down on the couch in the Stilinski living room next to Stiles. “I could... I mean, this morning, Mom was on the phone in the laundry room, and I could hear it!” Stiles' brow lifted a little, as if he was asking his friend what the significance in that was. It was not like overhearing a phone conversation was exactly something new. “Dude, I was _in my room_.”

 

Oh. _Oh_. Stiles' eyes widened a little when that information sank in. Scott had _heard_ his mother's conversation clearly, even though she was across the the house and down a floor. That was... not normal at all. “And have you noticed that since I was... well, that night, I’ve not had _any_ problems with my asthma?” Scott questioned, which only made Stiles' brow furrow a little as he realized that his best friend was right.

 

_I think we should go talk to Laura and Derek_. Stiles signed the words quickly to his friend, making the other teen's brow furrow a little in complete confusion.

 

“Why?” questioned Scott as he stood up and began pacing, feeling an energy thrumming through his body that he could not quite explain. He wanted to be rid of it, though, because the night before, it had given him trouble when attempting to sleep.

 

Stiles sighed softly, wetting his lips before he signed once again. _I think they know what's going on_.

 

That was how, several minutes later, Stiles and Scott found themselves once again in Ink'd. Laura’s brow lifted from her place behind the counter where she was checking over any appointments written down in the book for the day while Derek looked over from a sink against the back wall where he was washing his hands after having been working with a customer that just left. Isaac Lahey then came out of the back with a box of things, starting to ask Laura where she wanted them only to stop when he saw Stiles and Scott standing there. Isaac looked confusedly between the Hale siblings, and Laura sighed heavily. “What can we help you with today?” she asked, before nodding to where she wanted Isaac to put the box, making the curly-haired teen nod in response before doing that.

 

“We need to talk to you,” replied Scott, looking from Isaac to Laura with a faint frown. He was not sure if Isaac should be there for their conversation, but Laura did not seem to be insisting on their classmate to leave the room. “You know what happened, don't you?”

 

Laura sighed, but did not argue and Derek grabbed some paper towels to dry his hands off with as he said, “I think your friend should go.”

 

“No. Anything you have to say to me, you can say to Stiles. I’ll just tell him, anyway.” Both teens crossed their arms over their chest with determined expressions on their faces.

 

Isaac frowned a little as he walked over to where Laura was, standing a little behind her. She reached over and squeezed the curly-haired teen's shoulder with a faint smile before saying, “Turn the sign for us, would you, pup?”

 

The teen did as was requested of him before going over to sit on the couch near the windows. “You're only putting him in danger if he knows,” Derek stated, scowling a little as he walked over to sit on the stool he usually used when working with a client.

 

Stiles and Scott just shared a look, and Scott rolled his eyes before saying, “Tell us.”

 

Laura took a deep breath before she started explaining about the fire that killed her family, about how her uncle had been in the hospital, about how _somehow_ , he killed an alpha that was going through town and how now he was looking to start a new pack. It seemed, from the way he was acting, he had his sights on Stiles. Scott was too busy laughing in shock about the whole werewolf thing to really have that information sink in; but, Stiles let a little flail out before quickly signing, _That freak's after me? Why_?

 

Scott's brow furrowed a little, looking from his best friend to the others in the room. “Wait, _what_?” Scott demanded with a frown. “What do you mean he's targeted Stiles?”

 

“You two are a packaged deal,” Derek replied with a slight grumble as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Even my uncle has to see that. He figures, if he gets one... he'll easily get the other.”

 

“That's...” Scott shook his head with a frown while Stiles just crossed his arms over his chest, practically hugging himself. He did not want to be a werewolf.

 

Then again, he did not think Scott wanted to, either; and, it was his own fault that his best friend was in that situation. “The full moon is coming,” Laura said with a heavy sigh. “We were going to tell _you_ , Scott, before hand. My uncle... he's going to call for you, to make you run with him, to make you _kill_ with him.”

 

“What? No! I can't kill somebody!” Scott's expression was one of pure horror and confusion as he absentmindedly took a step closer to Stiles. The simple idea of having to hurt someone was putting him on edge. What if he hurt _Stiles_? Or his mom?

 

“You won't exactly have much of a choice,” Derek explained from his spot practically in the shadows. “You'll either kill with him, or he'll kill you.”

 

Laura growled low in her throat and her eyes flashed red for a moment before she spoke through clenched teeth, “That is not how an alpha is _supposed_ to conduct himself, to form his pack. Peter has... lost himself in the wolf instinct. He's no longer _human_.”

 

“So... so what do I do?” asked Scott, his voice sounding helpless enough that Isaac winced from his spot near the door. Scott had almost forgotten he was there, almost; except for the part that he fairly constantly held at least a part of Scott's focus.

 

“We can teach you to ignore it, to fight against the instinct,” replied Laura with a nod and something that seemed to be an attempt at a smile, though it did not reach her eyes. “We can help you fight _against_ him.”

 

“Okay. Let's.. yeah. I don't want to kill anybody.” Scott nodded a few times, only relaxing a little when Stiles reached over and gave his arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Things were going to be alright, Scott told himself; they had to be.


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott gets some training, and Stiles gets some questions answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think this chapter is a lot more filler than anything; but, there is some development here. :D

Werewolves were real; and, one of them was _potentially_ after Stiles. Stiles let out a shaky breath as he continued to pace back and forth across his bedroom, wringing his hands in front of him. After their talk with the Hale siblings, Stiles and Scott had gone to their separate homes to process everything. Stiles was still not sure what to think about having seen Isaac at the tattoo parlor. He obviously seemed in the know, however. Did that mean he was a werewolf too? Stiles ran both hands through his hair, letting out a heavy, slightly shaky breath. It all felt like some terrible nightmare that he just wanted to be able to wake up from. Stiles froze when he heard the sound of his bedroom window opening and he started to cross the room to where he kept his old softball bat, but before he could reach it there were hands on his wrists stopping him. “Stiles,” Derek said, making the teen stop before yanking his arm away.

 

Instinctively, Stiles started signing, asking Derek what he was doing there only to remember that Derek did not know sign language and he sighed, starting to look for a notebook. However, at Derek’s next words, Stiles froze. “I wanted to make sure you were okay,” answered the elder man, making Stiles' brow furrow in confusion as he watched Derek. “I, uh, I’ve been learning some.” Derek shrugged nonchalantly without looking directly at Stiles. “I still don't know much, but I know some basics.”

 

Stiles nodded a little, absentmindedly wetting his lips as they stood there in the middle of the room. To be honest, Stiles was not sure what he thought about it. There were only two people in his life that had even attempted to learn sign language so that Stiles could communicate with them; his father and Scott. Everyone else relied on him writing it down or continued to expect him to just start talking again if they continued to talk to him and ask him enough questions. Even his family thought that, despite his father reminding them that it did not and would not work that way. Stiles would speak again when he was ready; John had told them that several times, but the aunts, uncles, and grandparents did not seem to accept that answer.

 

_I’m fine._ Stiles signed the words after a moment, nodding a little before running his hands through his hair.

 

Derek’s brow lifted a little and he smirked faintly as he watched Stiles. “You're fine? You just found out _werewolves are real_ and that your best friend is one,” Derek stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Most people would not be fine.”

 

_Well, I am. Cautious and worried, but fine._ Stiles smiled a little when Derek seemed to be trying to figure out all of what he had signed, and the teen moved over to his desk so that he could write it down on the whiteboard that was hanging on the wall above it. Stiles was not exactly sure why, but it just made him feel... _good_ that Derek was doing something to easier be able to communicate with him. Most people did not care enough.

 

The werewolf nodded a little when he read Stiles' answer, though he looked doubtful, making the teen roll his eyes. So, he knew he was not as okay as he was trying to make people think. That was what he did, though. He got enough of peoples' pity and sad looks, he did not need it even more over something he could not really control. What he just could not figure out was why the psychotic werewolf running loose wanted him in the first place. It was not like he was someone that would make a good werewolf. At least, Stiles did not think so. Maybe the guy saw something that Stiles did not. Still, Stiles did not _want_ it.

 

Somehow, though Stiles was not exactly sure how, he and Derek ended up sitting on his bed, talking about everything. Well, Derek was talking, and Stiles was writing. He signed a bit, keeping to the very basics and teaching Derek some more along the way. It was distracting, teaching Derek, that was. It kept his mind off of everything else, especially off the fact that Derek had told him Laura and Isaac were at Scott's to teach him about control and other things like that.

 

“You should get some sleep,” Derek said after several hours of them sitting there talking. Stiles had not even realized how tired he actually was until that moment. He had planned on working on some of his summer schoolwork, but obviously that did not even begin to happen. If he tried to start then, it would probably be a jumbled mess.

 

Stiles nodded a little in answer, worrying at his lower lip for a moment before waving at Derek as the man stood and left the room, once again using the window. The teen smiled a little to himself before he got up and went over to the window, locking it before he changed into some sleep clothes. He was asleep almost immediately after hitting the bed.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The following morning, Stiles woke up to the sound of someone bursting into his room through the door. Stiles groaned and snuggled down deeper into his blankets. Scott chuckled at his best friend and walked over to the bed. He then grabbed the blankets and tugged them off, tossing them aside onto the floor. “C'mon, lazy,” Scott said, nearly bouncing on his toes with an energy that made Stiles glare up at him. “Let's go. Laura wants me over at the shop today. You should come too.”

 

_Why?_ Stiles signed with a yawn though he did sit up on the bed, ruffling his hair absentmindedly once he was upright.

 

“Because you're my best friend and I want you there? C'mon, we both know you're curious as fuck about all of this. What better way to learn than from people who _know_ instead of books?” Scott looked hopefully at the other teen, only to break into a bright grin when Stiles seemed to relent with a heavy sigh and a nod. “Great! C'mon, we can grab food on the way.”

 

About an hour later, Stiles and Scott showed up at Ink'd, each one with a McDonalds bag and a soda in either hand. Laura rolled her eyes a bit at them when Stiles practically leaned up against his best friend as they walked, using the other teen for support until some of the caffeine from his soda hit his system. They sat out of the way while Laura was with a customer and Isaac was doing some cleaning. Neither of them was sure where Derek was, but they did not ask.

 

Stiles tugged his feet up so that he could sit cross-legged with his feet underneath him in his seat, picking at the hashbrown that came with his meal while Scott talked with Isaac about the upcoming school year, making Stiles pull a face. He was quite enjoying the fact that it was summer. However, it was as he started to unwrap his breakfast burrito that he realized something; things were going to be a lot different with Scott once they got back to school and the teen would have to try to not let people know things were, well, different.

 

Laura smirked a little as she glanced over at Stiles, practically reading his concerns on his face. She wondered when one of them would think about that. “No worries, mini-Stilinski,” Laura said, making Stiles look over to where she was preparing to touch up a tattoo on one of the more regular customers to the shop. “We'll help him. We made it through school, after all.”

 

It was a long while later that the guy left the shop and Derek came down from the apartment upstairs. “About time you woke up,” Laura said as she tossed the towel she had been drying her hands with at Derek. He simply rolled his eyes and knocked the towel away before it actually hit him.

 

“I made coffee,” Isaac stated brightly with a smile, gesturing over to the doorway that led to the kitchen that was down there instead of upstairs in the apartment.

 

“Thanks, pup,” grumbled Derek as he made his way into the kitchen to get himself a cup and Isaac smiled a little more. Stiles' brow furrowed a little at just how much Isaac reacted to the praise. It was odd, but Stiles was fairly sure that whatever the reason for the teen to react so much to something so little was very bad.

 

Laura then took a black hair elastic off her wrist, using it to tie her hair back as she said, “Turn the sign, pup. We're going downstairs.”

 

Isaac nodded a little before he went over to turn the open sign in the window to show that the shop was closed before he locked the door. Stiles and Scott both stood up then and followed the other three to a door that Stiles had not noticed before and then down the stairs on the other side after Laura opened it.

 

In the basement room was some weights, a chin-up bar, training mats, and a cage in the corner that Stiles did _not_ want to think about. He could guess what that was for. “We started lessons on control with Scott,” Laura explained as she tugged off her sweater so that she was just wearing a tank top and jeans, throwing the material aside. “But, he needs to learn defensive and offensive strategies. There are hunters and other werewolves out there, like Peter, who would not hesitate in killing you, Scott. We need to teach you how to defend yourself, and how to defy an alpha's orders.”

 

“It's easier to ignore an alpha that is not your own,” Derek explained as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against one of the walls, “but when it comes to ignoring the one who bit you, that's a bit harder.”

 

“Hunters are going to do what they can to injure you,” said Isaac from his corner of the room, his voice small. He smiled a little when Laura smiled at him reassuringly, nodding once at the curly-haired teen. “If you're hurt, you can't turn.”

 

Stiles sat aside on one of the training mats as he listened to them explaining to Scott about extreme emotions being a trigger, and how anchors are needed to keep himself human. It was good information to have, though Stiles was not completely sure why he was there. He was storing all the new information on werewolves, however. Who knew when it would come in handy? Stiles watched silently as the four werewolves (Isaac’s glowing eyes and stance quickly informed Stiles that Isaac was, indeed, a werewolf as well) worked on Scott's self-defense and senses training. Laura made him keep his eyes closed for half of it. It took everything in Stiles to not jump up and rush to Scott's side every time that he got hurt. He always healed, though Laura made sure that she never made a particularly hard blow at the teen, as an injury from an alpha took longer to heal; Laura explained that when Scott asked her why she was holding back.

 

Stiles must have been more exhausted than he realized, because at some point, he drifted off while he lay on the mat, watching Scott get his ass handed to him by Isaac. He was not even aware of it until he woke up in a bed that was not his own. It took him several moments of laying there to realize that once again, he was in the Hales' apartment. “Hey, you're up,” Derek stated as he came into the room with a box that held different glass containers filled with different powders that Stiles did not realize.

 

_Sorry. Did not realize I was tired._ Stiles signed quickly before he sat up and ran a hand through his hair while Derek shook his head a little.

 

“Nothing to apologize for. They're almost done downstairs for the day,” Derek said as he placed the box on a bookshelf in the corner. “Laura’s given Scott some books for you to read, if you wanna learn more about everything.”

 

Stiles nodded and smiled softly, looking around the room a little before shifting to get off the bed. He stopped, however, when he spotted a few books on ASL on the bedside table. He realized then that he most definitely was in Derek’s room. The teen reached over and picked up one of the books, idly flipping through it as Derek walked over to sit down next to him. _Only Scott and my dad learned._ Stiles signed to Derek after the man settled into place next to him. He had never had any other friend try to learn and Stiles was still not sure what to think about it. It made him feel good, though, and he could not help but smile a little. _Are we friends?_

 

Derek’s brow furrowed a little as he watched Stiles' hands, trying to remember the signs that he had learned and to piece together what Stiles was asking. Once he remembered “friends”, the rest of the question hit him all at once. “I'd like to think so,” Derek replied with a faint smile, which caused the teen next to him to smile brightly with a nod. Stiles would very much like to get to know more about the guy who was going out of his way to be able to communicate with Stiles.

 

It was nice, but odd, to know that someone wanted to know what he had to say enough to learn. His father did after Scott had, because it made things easier; but, those were the two people that Stiles had figured would do something like that once it became clear that speaking was not something on Stiles' agenda. It reminded him, though, of his dreams with Derek in them in which he would actually speak. They were so odd and vivid that Stiles was not sure what to make of them. He started to ask Derek about it, but the man's attention turned to the doorway just before Scott came into the room with a smile. “Ready to get outta here?” Scott asked, looking tired but determined as he shifted the books in his arms.

 

Stiles nodded a little and stood up, smiling a little at Derek before he went over to Scott, who said his good-bye to Derek and the two of them left. Stiles smiled softly with a fond roll of his eyes as Scott talked about all the training he'd done that day, handing Stiles the books he had from Laura. “And Isaac was like, really controlled,” Scott stated as they climbed into Stiles' Jeep. “I dunno, I didn't expect that.”

 

Stiles lifted his shoulders in a shrug as he started the car. To be honest, he had not expected any of the events of the day; but, he was seriously regretting his nap by the time that he got home. He made dinner for himself and his father, and the two of them watched a movie together; but, by the time it was getting late and Stiles should be getting ready for bed, he was too rested to even try. So, he started to read one of the books that Laura had given him; and, that night, Stiles dremt of big, black wolves and loud growls.


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _This might hurt._ Stiles does not want other people getting hurt because of him; but, that may just be what happens in the end.

Laura had Isaac and Scott running laps around the preserve. Stiles did not want to go, knowing that there was no way he could keep up. So, he stayed behind at Ink'd. Derek stayed with him, in order to keep the shop open and so that Stiles was not sitting there alone. The two of them sat in the front of the shop, working on Derek’s sign language between customers. He caught on very quick, and was definitely easier to teach than Scott; but, that was simply because Scott's attention span was about like Stiles' in the fact that some days it was non-existent. It had only been a week since Stiles had learned that Derek was learning sign language, something that made his chest feel all warm when he thought about it, but the teen no longer needed to write his thoughts to Derek, save some of the more advanced signs. It was nice.

 

Stiles signed slower to Derek than he did to Scott, but Scott had several years of practice, whereas Derek was just beginning. When Derek was with a customer, Stiles sat quietly on a stool, flipping through the different design books while watching Derek work. It amazed him to see the fine details Derek put into his tattoos and the intricate designs. It almost made Stiles want one; almost. Then, he remembered the whole needle thing and quickly rejected the idea again.

 

It was growing late; Stiles and Derek had already ordered and devoured a pizza, and Derek’s shift was nearly over when the other three returned to the shop. Laura led the other two inside, all three of them full of laughter and smiles. “Good run?” Derek asked his sister as he crossed off an appointment for later in the week that had been canceled due to the client falling ill.

 

“Very,” replied Laura as she went over and pressed a lingering, purposely obnoxious kiss against Derek’s cheek, making him groan. “I'm gonna take a shower, then I’ll take over here.”

 

Derek nodded a little before Laura jogged upstairs to do that while Scott smiled at his best friend and asked, “Ready to get outta here?”

 

Stiles nodded a little before signing his good-bye to Derek, who said, “Bye, Stiles,” in response. Isaac waved at the two teens as Scott and Stiles headed out to Stiles' Jeep. The quiet teen smiled a little as Scott talked enthusiastically throughout the drive about his run with Laura and Isaac.

 

Scott spent most of the ride talking about Isaac, though a few tidbits about Laura slipped in as well. Stiles would have teased Scott about his obvious crush on Isaac, but he needed both hands to drive. So, he would just save it for another day when they were hanging out together. They said their good-byes when Stiles got to Scott's house, and he waited for the other teen to get inside before actually continuing to his own home. Stiles was slightly surprised to find his father's cruiser parked outside when he got there. He guessed that meant his father had somehow got the evening off. Stiles waved when he walked inside, shutting the door behind him before walking over to sit down on the couch next to his dad. “Have fun with Scott?” John questioned, changing the channel to one that was not playing a commercial, landing on a re-run of some primetime comedy show that was in syndication.

 

_Yeah. I think he's got a a crush on Isaac Lahey._ Stiles signed more slowly than usual, a sign that the teen was growing tired that John knew quite well.

 

John pursed his lips slightly as he nodded before saying, “So, Tara told me that she saw you hanging around Ink'd today with _Derek Hale_.”

 

Stiles worried at his lower lip for a moment, nodding slowly as he tried to think of the best way to explain to his father why he was going over there. _Isaac and Scott are getting some coaching from Laura. I stayed behind. Derek’s learning to sign._

 

The sheriff's brow lifted in complete surprise at the final statement from his son. Honestly, the rest of it did not bother him at all, neither did the fact that Hale was learning ASL. It was the fact that the young man was doing it at all that had John shocked. None of Stiles' friends past Scott had even bothered in trying to learn. They got frustrated with him writing things out and seemed to believe that if they kept pressuring the teen that he would start talking again. None of them seemed to listen to the advice that pressuring him would only make Stiles clam up even more. “He is?” John ran a hand through his hair, watching Stiles as the teen nodded with a bright smile that was honestly very uncommon. He had not seen Stiles _smile_ like that in several years. Somehow, John could not help believe that Hale was going to be a common occurrence in Stiles' life from that point on. As long as no laws were broken and Stiles was okay, John was okay. He just wanted what was best for his boy; and, honestly, someone who actually took the time to be able to hear what Stiles had to say was alright in his book. “Well, now you'll have someone else to talk to.”

 

John smiled as Stiles nodded just a little, his eyes focused on the television in front of them before he looked to his dad in order to sign to him. _I think Scott's crushing on Isaac. I haven't gotten to tease him yet._

 

John snickered a little at his son's words and reached out to ruffle the teen's hair. “Do it as soon as you can, for my sake.” Stiles just grinned in response, and the sheriff took that as an agreement. “You should get some sleep, kiddo. You look beat.”

 

Honestly, Stiles had not even realized how tired he was until that moment. He had been awake since three in the morning, after a nightmare had woken him up. He had been unable to get back to sleep, so he had sat up and finished reading one of the books on his summer reading list until it was time to go get Scott to head over to Ink'd. With a nod, Stiles got up and squeezed his father's shoulder, his silent form of good-night that the man returned vocally as the teen made his way upstairs. Stiles piddled around, taking a long shower and straightening his room a little before his mind finally settled enough that he could lay down and fall asleep.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_It was bright and sunny; that was the first thing that Stiles noticed. The clouds above him were moving terribly slow, and something about the way the breeze ruffled his hair and rustled the grass around him led Stiles to immediately realize that he was dreaming again. It was the type of terribly detailed dream that usually had Derek in it. Stiles sat up then and looked around him, but Derek was not there. So, Stiles simply went back to watching the clouds. He could hear the sounds of someone fighting near-by, but Stiles could not bring himself to look. No, he did not want to know about the giant black dog that was attacking a smaller wolf that reminded Stiles greatly about Laura. It was not the first time those figures showed up in his dreams. Stiles doubted it would be the last. Still, he did not look._

 

_As the fighting grew closer, Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, clenching them tighter when he felt and heard someone crouch down in front of him. “Stiles, why are you closing your eyes?” he heard Derek ask._

 

_Stiles idly wet his lips, keeping his eyes pressed closed as he spoke in a scratchy, broken voice. “I don't want to see,” he all but mumbled. Stiles inhaled sharply when he felt fingers brushing along his jawline. “Derek.”_

 

“ _Stiles, open your eyes.” Stiles shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut a little tighter. “Please, open your eyes, Stiles.”_

 

_The teen let out a breath he did not realize that he was holding and slowly opened his eyes. Derek continued to stay crouched down in front of him. When had he sat up, anyway? Stiles could no longer remember. “I don't want this,” Stiles mumbled, shaking his head a little again, “but, people are going to get hurt, aren't they?”_

 

“ _We can handle ourselves, Stiles. If you don't want... We won't let him hurt you.”_

 

_Stiles idly wet his lips, shaking his head once again. “I don't want him to hurt you.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles woke up to the sound of his father's voice cutting through his dreams, making him sit up with a slight gasp. “Stiles, I have to go to the station,” John said through his son's door, making the teen's brow furrow. “I'll probably be a while.”

 

He glanced over at the clock on his bedside table, seeing that it was still rather early in the morning. Whatever happened was big, and Stiles' chest immediately tightened in worry. He knocked once on the headboard of his bed, a sign to his dad that he had heard what the man had said. John sighed softly and nodded to himself, saying his good-bye to his son before he actually left the house. Stiles ran a hand over his face, continuing to stare up at the ceiling. It was going to be a long day, he could tell.

 

After laying there for a while, Stiles sighed softly and got up out of his bed. He then got dressed and ran a hand through his hair before going downstairs, where he made himself some coffee and a bowl of cereal. He left the bowl on the counter, eating a few spoonfuls of the frosted flakes in it before turning around to move over to the table. It was then that he noticed a man dressed in black with his hair slicked back standing in the doorway. He had never seen the man before but several features in his face were so familiar that Stiles did not even need to ask; he knew it was Peter Hale. In his shock of the man standing there, Stiles dropped the bowl in his hand, barely even flinching when it broke upon impact. The man several feet away from him grinned slowly and said, “Hello, Stiles.”

 

The teen immediately reached for his cell phone, which he usually put into his pants pockets, only to find it wasn't there. The man smirked again and held up the cell phone as he said, “Looking for this?” Stiles frowned a little when the man crushed it in one hand. He could not afford a new phone. What was he going to tell his dad? “I know that you're aware of who I am; your best friend's alpha.”

 

The expression that crossed Stiles' face at that statement could only be defined as pure defiance. Peter was not Scott's alpha; if anything, Laura was. However, Stiles could not say that to the man. “You know why I’m here, Stiles,” Peter stated after a moment, taking a step closer. It made Stiles walk backward quickly until his back hit the counter, making him wince. That would bruise. “You have... so much potential in you. I can make you better, faster, _stronger_.”

 

As he spoke, Peter walked forward and Stiles kept trying to press himself back into the counter more. Peter was much too close for Stiles' comfort, and in a moment of pure desperation, Stiles grabbed one of the heavy skillets that sat in the dish strainer next to the sink and swung it at Peter's head as hard as he could. The werewolf snarled as he stumbled off to the side, having been unprepared for the impact, and Stiles _ran_ out the back door. He was almost to the tree line when he ran right into someone, whose arms wrapped around him immediately. “Stiles, are you okay?” Derek asked, glaring toward the house when Stiles shook his head in response. Derek then moved Stiles behind him as Peter came striding out of the house. He did not even reach his nephew yet when Laura showed up at Derek’s side, both of them sneering at the man that used to be their uncle.

 

Stiles stumbled backward a few steps as he watched the three of them start to fight. Peter rather effortlessly threw Derek against a nearby tree after pressing his claws deep into his nephew's torso, dragging them up in a way that caused the young man more pain than he already felt. Derek didn't move after he hit the ground and Stiles' eyes widened slightly. “Derek!” he called out as best he could, though the word was weak and broken, shakier than Stiles even realized.

 

“Run, Stiles,” Laura commanded, not so much as glancing in the teen's direction as she dodged a blow from Peter by jumping backward. “Get out of here! I’ve got this. Stiles, _run_!”

 

Stiles did not want to listen, but hearing the way that Laura was almost pleading with him, Stiles did the first thing he could think of; he ran toward Ink'd, and when he got there, he quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper to show Isaac. The beta's eyes widened in surprise before he nodded a little. “Stay here, I’m going to Laura,” Isaac insisted before he left Stiles alone in the shop. The teen found himself sitting on the floor in one of the corners, not even knowing how he got there. Stiles' hands shook and his heart rate was much too high. He had no idea what was going on back by his place, and he could not get the image of Derek lying motionless on the ground out of his mind.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sheriff needs to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [heyyouassbutt](http://archiveofourown.org/users/heyyouassbutt/pseuds/heyyouassbutt) for pointing out a continuity error for me! :)

Stiles let out a heavy, shaky breath as he paced in main room of Ink'd, glancing toward the door for any sign of someone coming back every few moments. Scott never showed up (then again, Stiles did not know if Scott was even aware of what was going on), and Stiles was not sure what was going on at all. He hated that he was left there like some invalid just because he did not have super strength like everyone else. At the same time, though, he understood. Peter did not want to _kill_ him, simply to bite him. All it would take is one moment and Peter would get what he wanted. Stiles shuddered at the thought, running his free hand along the opposite arm a few times as if he was cold.

 

After what felt like an eternity, the bell above the door rang, making Stiles jump and he immediately turned to look toward it only to be surprised that instead of one of the people he was waiting for, he found himself looking at Danny Mahealani. “Stiles?” Danny said with a furrowed brow as he glanced around. “What're you doing here? Where's Laura?”

 

The quiet teen stood there for a moment, staring blankly at Danny as he tried to figure out just what to tell him. Finally, he grabbed a notebook and wrote out that they were closed for a family emergency. He then showed the sign to Danny who nodded.

 

“Oh, that sucks. I guess I’ll call and reschedule then.” Danny’s brow furrowed a little as Stiles moved around the desk to look at the calendar sitting there. “What're you doing here, anyway?”

 

Ignoring the question, Stiles wrote down a few available days for Danny to choose from, and once the other teen had, Stiles wrote it onto the calendar and marked out the original appointment. He was hoping that Danny would just leave after getting that settled. The last thing they needed was someone in there if they returned all sliced and diced, after all. “I guess I’ll see you at school in a couple weeks, then?” Danny said, studying Stiles for a moment as he realized that he was not going to get a straight answer from the other boy.

 

Stiles nodded, managing a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. With another curious expression, Danny finally waved and left the shop. Stiles let out a heavy breath and went over to the door, turning over the sign so that it would not falsely advertise the shop as being open. Then, Stiles resumed his pacing, wringing his hands in front of him.

 

He was not sure how much time had passed before the door opened again. That time, Isaac and Laura stumbled in with Isaac holding his alpha up, her arm around his shoulders. Her leg looked pretty mangled and was still bleeding. Stiles' eyes widened in alarm and Isaac managed a faint smile in his direction. “She'll be fine,” Isaac told him as he continued to lead Laura toward the back of the shop. “Alpha wounds take longer to heal, remember?”

 

The other teen nodded a little, looking back toward the door as Scott and Derek came in. Scott had a large bruise on the side of his face that was slowly healing already. Stiles had a feeling that the bruise should have healed already but Scott was not letting it due to Laura being hurt. He'd done it before in training. Derek looked exhausted, but breathing, which was a good thing. Without really thinking about it, Stiles was quickly across the room, practically throwing himself at Derek with a hug. The elder man stumbled a little with a wince but wrapped his arms around Stiles anyway. Stiles pulled away enough to sign that he was sorry, having forgotten that Derek was probably still hurt. “S'fine,” Derek replied, his arms still around Stiles' waist while Scott went to the back to help Isaac with patching up Laura’s wounds. “Peter ran off, but he's really hurt. Should be out of commission for a while.”

 

Stiles nodded with a soft sigh before signing to Derek once again, asking if he was okay. “I'll be fine, Stiles,” insisted Derek with a faint smile before nodding toward the back as he let go of the teen. “C'mon, let's go check on Laura.”

 

The two of them went to the back room, where Scott was handing Laura a bottle of whiskey as Isaac was using a sewing needle and thread to stitch up a giant gash along the side of Laura’s leg. It made Stiles wince to see, but Laura laughed a little and grinned at the teen. “This is nothing, kiddo,” she stated before holding the bottle out to Isaac, tipping the bottle enough for him to get a drink as well before he resumed focusing on his actions. “You should've seen my back when we went up against this alpha from downstate. Peter's rusty, not to his full power. He needs more betas. It'll be his greatest weakness, especially since Scott's fighting him instead of submitting.”

 

As true as that might have been, Stiles still hated to see any of them hurt, especially because of _him_. “It's not your fault, Stiles,” Scott said, as if reading his best friend's mind, which he practically could by that point. “You're not forcing Peter's hand.”

 

The quiet teen nodded a little, letting out a heavy breath as he ran a hand through his hair only to jump when Scott's cell phone started to ring loudly. Scott pulled out the device and answered the call from Stiles' worried father. Stiles could faintly hear the man's frantic voice asking if he knew where Stiles was, if he was okay. It was then that Stiles realized there was a broken bowl and his cereal still on the floor in the kitchen. Scott quickly explained that Stiles was fine, where they were and that they would be at the house soon. Once John agreed to that, Scott said good-bye and hung up the phone before looking over to Stiles, who had no idea how he was going to explain anything to his dad. Once again, Scott seemed to just _know_ what was going on, and the other teen said, “Maybe we should just tell him the truth.”

 

Stiles' head snapped up and he looked across the room to Scott. A part of him thought that was a good idea, but a bigger part was screaming at him that it was a _terrible_ idea. Laura seemed thoughtful, tilting her head to one side slightly before sharing a look with her brother. “If you want to tell your father, Stiles,” she said after a moment, “go ahead.”

 

A short while later, Derek dropped both Scott and Stiles off at Stiles' place. The sheriff met them at the door, casting a glance toward the Hales' car with a neutral expression that Stiles knew meant the man was trying to calculate just what was happening. Scott smiled sheepishly with a smile as the two teens went into the house and John shut the door after them. “I think there's something we need to tell you,” Scott said as he and Stiles sat on the couch in the living room. John slowly sat down on one of the chairs, steady gaze fixed on the teenagers in the room. “You might not believe it at first, but... everything I’m going to say is the truth.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You alright, pup?” Laura asked Isaac as she sat on the couch in the main room of the apartment, idly running her fingers through the beta's curls while he lay sprawled out along the couch with his head on her uninjured leg.

 

Isaac nodded a little and sighed softly, glancing over to where Derek sat on one of the chairs, reading one of their many books on werewolves, probably in attempt to figure out what they could do with Peter without having to actually kill him. The man was still their uncle after all. “Yeah,” Isaac finally said after a moment of quiet. “Just worried about what's going to happen.”

 

“We'll be fine,” replied Derek, turning a page in the book without looking up from it. “We always are.”

 

The teen nodded a little, though that time, he could not help but wonder what if that time was different. They usually had great luck when it came to their adversaries; but, something about that time felt different to him. “Do you think Scott and Stiles are going to be okay?” Isaac tilted his head enough to be able to actually look up at Laura. “I mean, they've both been to training and read every book we've given them; but, I don't think they've had a chance to really _process_ anything.”

 

Laura nodded in agreement, still sifting her fingers through Isaac’s hair. “I know, pup,” she said with a slight smile, using her other hand to gently squeeze his arm. I think they'll be fine, though. They're stronger than they look.”

 

“I hope so.”

 

The conversation died out then, and the three of them just stayed there in silence, enjoying one another's company until eventually they decided to head off to their bedrooms for the night. Laura was not sure if she could actually sleep, adrenaline was still pumping through her body too much; but, she was going to attempt it anyway.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“So, let me get this straight... Werewolves?” said John with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Out of all the things he expected the boys to try to tell him, something so ridiculous was not one of them. “And the truth, now?”

 

Scott's jaw dropped and he looked to Stiles, who was biting his lip and staring down at his hands. The teen then looked back to John and said, “Sir, I’m not lying to you. It's the truth.”

 

“I think you boys have been watching too many movies.” John stood up with a heavy sigh, intending on going to grab himself a small glass of whiskey, but he ended up stumbling back into his seat when Scott stood up as well with his features shifting to one that should not exist. “What the hell?”

 

“I told you.” Scott, glanced down at Stiles, who simply nodded a little, and then looked back to the man sitting in front of him. “Werewolves; and, one of them keeps trying to turn Stiles.”

 

John looked between the two teens several times before nodding with an exhale of a shaky breath. Scott let his features shift back to normal as he sat down. He could tell the different things going through the man's mind, and he sighed before shaking his head a little. “You guys can't leave town,” Scott said sadly. “Peter will just follow you.”

 

“Peter... _Hale_?” John rubbed his eyes tiredly after Scott nodded slowly in response. “So, the Hales are werewolves, and Isaac Lahey. Peter wants to make my son into one, too. This is all why you've been spending time at that tattoo parlor.”

 

Stiles nodded a little, signing to his father that just because he wasn't one too did not mean he was going to make Scott learn everything on his own. Someone had to keep his best friend in line after all. Stiles smirked a little at his last statement as Scott gasped and said, “Hey!”

 

“He's got a point,” replied John with a slight, though very tired sounding, chuckle. He was fairly sure he was still in shock, which was why he was not freaking out just yet. Give him time, though, and he was sure he would get there.

 

“Thanks.” Scott huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as Stiles nudged him with an elbow. “You know that you can't tell anyone about this, right? I mean... people probably wouldn't believe it, and those who would... Well, they'd be hunters who would try to _kill_ us.”

 

John Stilinski nodded a little with a very somber expression on his face. He had no doubt that telling anyone would be ill advised. The one thing he really just could not wrap his mind around was how two teenagers were supposed to handle everything. “I'm glad you told me, boys,” John said after a moment of quiet. “I don't think it's quite set in yet; but, I’m still glad. No more secrets, okay?”

 

Both teens nodded and the three of them sat around talking a while longer before both teens went upstairs to get some sleep. Scott had already let his mother know he would be staying there that night. John let out a heavy breath, running a hand through his thinning hair as he got up to finally get that drink. Shaking his head a little, the man mumbled, “Werewolves,” and downed the drink.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_Stiles was sitting in that clearing again, picking apart some flowery looking plant that he thought he'd seen in one of the books Laura had given him. He could not remember what it was, though. “Wolfsbane,” Derek said from behind him and Stiles turned to see the other man standing there, hands in his jacket pockets. “It's toxic to us, kills us rather quickly, actually.” Stiles' brow furrowed as he looked to the purple flowered plant and he tossed it aside._

 

“ _There's so much to learn,” Stiles said quietly after a moment, clearing his throat as the words caused a scratchy feeling in his throat._

 

“ _Yeah, there is.” Derek nodded a little as he walked over to where Stiles was, sitting down next to him. “I've lived with all of this my whole life, and I’m still learning.”_

 

_Stiles wet his lips and nodded a little, looking down at his hands as he wrung them in his lap. “Maybe I should just let Laura give me the bite. Peter would stop, then.”_

 

_Derek’s brow lifted as he watched the teen for a moment before shaking his head. “That's not what you want.”  
_

“ _No, but...”_

 

“ _No. If it's not what you want, then don't do it.” Derek shook his head a little and sighed softly. “We're going to keep you safe, Stiles.”_

 

“ _It's not me I’m worried about.” With a frown, Stiles shook his head and looked over to Derek. “I don't want you to get hurt again. I mean, what if next time is worse? I already went out of my friggin' mind this time. I can't...”_

 

_Derek smiled over at Stiles in a reassuring manner, reaching over to take one of his hands and squeeze it gently. “I'll be fine, Stiles. Don't worry about me.”_

 

“ _Can't help it.”_

 

 

* * *

 

 

Stiles woke up suddenly, though he was not sure what exactly had woken him up. The house was still and quiet. The clock on his bedside table said that it was five in the morning, which meant there was still an hour until his father's alarm would go off. He attempted to go back to sleep, hearing Scott shift around in his sleep on the floor in his favored sleeping bag. After a few minutes of just staring at the ceiling, Stiles quietly got up and got dressed before going downstairs. If he was up, he may as well do something productive. He put on a load of laundry and then started to make breakfast for the three of them that would eventually wake up Scott from the smell and would be ready by the time John got up for work. The entire time, Stiles' stomach continued with the sinking feeling he had. That night would be the first night of the full moon.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things will change

 Stiles found himself at Ink'd sometime before noon and he sat on Derek’s bed, idly turning through one of the many books that Laura wanted him and Scott to read. It was quiet in the room; Laura was with Isaac and Scott down in the training room. He had no idea where Derek was. Laura had said that he was out for a run, but he had yet to return. Stiles glanced toward the door at the sound of the bell ringing downstairs, but several moments later had him looking back to the book when he could hear Laura talking with what sounded like a customer.

 

With an inaudible sigh, Stiles focused on the book once again, turning the page to a new one. The teen idly tapped his fingers on the book. He was not sure how long he sat there before he realized there was someone standing in the doorway and he looked up to see Derek standing there with a raised brow and a bemused expression. “I figured you'd be downstairs with Scott,” Derek stated as he walked over to the dresser, pulling out a clean t-shirt and jeans.

 

_There's only so many times I can watch Laura knock him on his ass._ Stiles signed once Derek glanced over at him again, causing the man to chuckle with a shake of his head.

 

“She's with a customer now,” Derek told him with a nod, tugging off the shirt he was wearing in order to change into the new one. Stiles sat there silently in shock for a moment before slowly avoiding his gaze, dropping it so he was looking at the book once again.

 

Stiles was sure his face was slightly flushed as he tried to focus on the words before him. He had no idea how Derek could be comfortable and confident enough to just change in front of someone else like that. Stiles couldn't even do that with Scott, and he knew that his best friend wouldn't be watching him undress. He always had to excuse himself to the bathroom or something if he wanted to change and Scott was in his room. Stiles only looked up again when Derek crossed the room to drop the dirty clothes into the hamper and he smiled a little as the werewolf came over to sit next to him on the bed. “What're you reading?” Derek asked.

 

The teen shrugged a little in answer before closing the book to show the cover, leaving his thumb between the pages to mark his spot. The title was in Latin, saying something that Stiles did not understand. He wanted to learn Latin, more than the few obvious words that he knew already. _It talks about packs and their strength in numbers. Did you know that packs used to have emissaries, or people trained in magic who would help a pack they were assigned to? Their numbers have died out dramatically, though, and finding a pack with one is rare._

 

Derek could not help but smile a little as he watched the rapid movements of Stiles' hands as the teen signed to him. He could tell that Stiles was antsy, and his hands were a little unsteady as he moved. There was a slight sense of excitement from the other teen as well, one that always seemed to come from Stiles whenever he was learning something new. “Yeah,” replied Derek with a slight nod, looking up to the teen's face once he was sure Stiles was done signing for the moment. “We used to have one; the Hale pack, I mean. I don't know who it was, I never met the guy. I just remember Mom talking about him.”

 

Stiles nodded a little in understanding, wondering who the guy could have been. Maybe he was still in town somewhere. “Are you going to work with Scott later?” questioned Derek, making Stiles jump a little as he was startled out of his thoughts.

 

He had forgotten Scott was working that evening, and was worried that it probably would not be the best idea. It was his first full moon, after all. Of course, Laura had worked really carefully with Scott to help him learn control, so maybe his best friend would be fine to at least close the shop before getting out of there. After a moment, Stiles nodded, pursing his lips slightly. _Yes. Someone should be there. Just in case._

 

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” agreed Derek, nodding once himself before nudging Stiles with his shoulder slightly. “Come on. Let's go make some lunch for everyone.”

 

Stiles nodded with a small smile before setting aside the book, and then he followed Derek downstairs to the kitchen. He waved to Laura as they passed and she flashed him a smile in response. The two of them worked in silence together, throwing together a light lunch for everyone. Stiles smiled smally, hearing the sounds of Isaac and Scott laughing and talking through the vent connected to the basement near by. Despite the tension that Stiles could practically feel in the air, it was turning out to be a really good day. “I heard you,” Derek said quietly after several minutes, making Stiles' brow furrow slightly. “The other day. You said my name.”

 

The teen's eyes widened in understanding, his face flushing slightly as he lifted his shoulders in a shrug. He honestly could not explain it. He hadn't had the urge to say anything in years, not until that moment. He hadn't felt the same urge since, either. He could not explain it, really. Even if he could, he was not sure that it made any sense. _Don't get used to it,_ Stiles signed after several more moments, smirking a little in a playful manner before turning toward the doorway at the sound of someone else walking in to see Scott and Isaac there. Stiles waved as his friends said their greetings, going over to the fridge to get themselves some water. It was all so perfectly normal; and, that terrified Stiles more than anything.

 

\---

 

Deaton's clinic was quiet, save the sounds of the animals in the back room, and Stiles' brow furrowed a little as he tried to focus on the words in front of him. He sat in the waiting area, reading one of the many books from Laura, but the words were all blending together from how long he had been staring at the pages. He stopped with a sigh, reaching up to rub his eyes until white lights flickered behind the lids. Dropping his hands, Stiles looked up quickly when suddenly all noise from the back of the clinic stopped. His brow furrowed as he set aside the book and slowly stood up. He then made his way toward the back, looking around for Scott carefully. The teen tensed slowly as he found that he did not see or hear his best friend anywhere.

 

Stiles' hand immediately went into his hoodie pocket, fingers curling around his new phone. He quickly and without looking tapped out the numbers 9-1-1 and prepared to send them to speed dial one, Laura’s number. He tapped the button to send the message when he felt eyes on the back of his neck, practically making his hair stand on end, before slowly turning to see Peter Hale standing there with a smug grin on his face that Stiles wanted nothing more than to knock away. He highly doubted punching a werewolf in the face was such a good idea, though. _Where's Scott?_ Stiles signed quickly, forgetting momentarily that this man did not know sign language.

 

Peter simply smirked and took another step forward, as Stiles stumbled back, and said, “Oh, he ran off chasing his tail or something. New betas are so easy to manipulate into thinking they're seeing something that they're not.”

 

Stiles' eyes widened slightly at that, both because apparently Peter did know sign language and Scott was _gone_ somewhere. The teen quickly surveyed the room, hoping to find something, anything that could be used as a weapon, only to find himself short of anything that would actually be effective. “There's no need to be afraid, Stiles,” Peter insisted, shaking his head just a little as he continued his slow, steady path forward. “I simply wish to share with you a gift.” The teen shook his head as he backed up to the wall, reaching out to the table next to him hoping to grab hold of something that could at least potentially help him out. There was nothing there, though. Stiles' eyes darted over toward the empty doorway, and Peter's smirk only grew.

 

The man took another step toward him, and in a split-second decision, Stiles grabbed the lightweight metal table and threw it at Peter. It did nothing but startle the man enough to make him stop his pursuit, and Stiles bolted in that moment, heading toward the back door and sprinting out into the alley. He could hear growls somewhere behind him, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he ran, knowing that Peter was somewhere behind him. He could hear someone calling his name from somewhere even further behind Peter, but he did not stop, quickly changing direction to turn into a side alley. He did not dare look over his shoulder, focusing on the path in front of him, instead.

 

Stiles' heart was pounding in his ears, and his steps grew more unsteady the farther he ran. He was sure that Peter had to be gaining on him, but a quick glance back found there to be nothing there. It made the teen slowly come to a stop in one of the many alleyways of the town. His breath came in harsh pants, and his brow furrowed as he studied the shadows, trying to make out if there was something moving in the shadows that he could not see. Then, the growls started, and Stiles' eyes widened before he turned to start running again. Before he could, however, he found his knees buckling and he fell forward as there was a great weight slammed into his back. His breath was forced out of him, and for several long moments, the world went dark.

 

\---

 

Scott came walking into the clinic to find Laura and Derek there, both of them looking worried and confused. “Where's Stiles?” Derek demanded, clenching his teeth as he looked to Scott with a flash of blue eyes.

  
“He's...” Scott gestured to the chair that his friend had been occupying only to tense when all at once it hit him that there was no one else in the clinic. “Peter.”

 

“How could you leave him alone? You were supposed to be watching him just as much as he was you!”

 

Laura placed a hand on her brother's shoulder in an attempt to calm him, while fixing a slight glare in Scott's direction. “We'll talk about what happened later. Let's go find Stiles.” They had just made it to the exam room, and Laura froze in place, a low growl forming in her chest as she spotted the table on the floor, a tangled mess where it lay while the back door stood open. It made Scott cower back slightly, biting back the urge to whine. “Derek, take Scott to the shop. I’m going to go find Stiles.”

 

Derek wanted to argue, but a flash of red eyes from his sister had him biting his tongue with a nod as he reached out to grab the collar of Scott's shirt, leading him toward the front door with an irritated, “Let's go.”

 

“Stiles is okay, right?” questioned Scott, his voice slightly shaky and obviously worried.

 

“Well, there's no blood.” It was all the comfort that Derek could offer at that moment, and it would have to be enough for the both of them. “Tell me why you weren't there.”

 

Scott explained to Derek about what he'd seen, or thought he had seen, and why he had raced out of there; he told Derek how there'd been someone banging on the back door with bloodied hands, asking for his help. He could not ignore the person; but, after a while, Scott had lost the person and had no idea how. Derek frowned a little as he listened, sighing softly with a shake of his head. “Let's hope Laura finds Stiles before Peter does.”

 

Meanwhile, Laura sprinted through the dark alleys, following a faint trail of Stiles' scent, though she had no idea how new it was. All she knew was she felt this thrum of energy in the air, the feeling that something was completely wrong and she could not explain it. Several alleys over from the clinic, Laura slowed her pace when she caught a strong scent of blood, and her eyes flashed red as she looked farther ahead, seeing someone standing over another body on the ground. It started to rain as she continued walking, and she was almost to the bloody scene ahead of her when she said, “Stiles?”

 

The person in front of her tensed before slowly turning around, and she found herself looking at Stiles, whose own eyes flashed red as he looked at her. She inhaled sharply through her nose and fought the urge to take a step back. “Oh, Stiles,” she said quietly, unable to keep the concern out of her face as she watched the shaking teen in front of her. In a blink of an eye, the teen was collapsing to the ground, and Laura surged forward to catch him before he hit the concrete. Her eyes landed on Peter laying motionless on the ground and she frowned a little, swearing under her breath. Things had definitely just become a lot more complicated.


End file.
